SL's must be more reliable.......

[edboyles]

because we don't get near as many posts as the other sections??? Just a coincendence? I know there are more deisels out there as part of the issue....but those SL's are classy head turners...

I've hit just about all the SL forums on the web and all are sleepers! Not much happening. Everytime I check sites like OurSL, I always feel like I'm the only one there, and get the feeling I need to shut the lights off before I leave! However, there has been about equal activity to this forum over at benzwirled lately.......

[tecqboy]

I have an excuse. My SL is stored for the winter months. I believe that most SL owners who live up here is the salt belt also store for the winter. It's not a winter car. Who wants to drive down the road with the top down when the temperatures are below freezing and the salt is flying? Where I live, they cover the roads with salt to match the snow depth. So for every inch of snow we get an inch of salt. The salt piles up into drifts at intersections, so we have to drive 4wd Jeeps in the winter to avoid getting stuck in a salt drift. They don't call it the rust belt for no reason.

[edboyles]

hard top man, hard top. thats what I like about the car. Regular car to a convertible (with a soft top as safety valve).....

[Justin_Luhrs]

kind of like a wife, she only goes haywire every now and again.
but like a mistress on the side, she's hot as hell.

all jokes aside, as long as you don't have the years with wiring issues, most other problems are soft top related and not all that expensive to fix, relatively speaking.

They can leak oil a bit too, but all cars do. Just more expensive to re-seal ours.

As long as the car is properly maintained, she should give you far far more joy than trouble. There are exceptions, and expensive ones at that, but they are far far less than the majority.

Justin

[Boudreaux]

My car is 11 years old and maintained to the best of my ability (aka bank account) to keep it running. I only wish I won the lottery and could buy two more R129's in the only colors that I really like: dark blue metallic and firemist red. I wouldn't even consider a '03-current SL since they don't have that certain panache that the R129's have.

Check out MBWORLD.ORG seems alot of owners of the R230 SL are having endless problems.

[Carlos Serrano]

Don't say that I have fallen in love with a silver 2005 SL 55 AMG.I better do some research before I trade the 99 SL 500.

[1984 280SL]

I would have to agree they are reliable. My 1980 280 SL 4 speed has 171,000 miles and is mostly all original. I have only replaced the water pump, alternator and fuel pump relay. Still original clutch, shocks and exhaust system. Not bad for 25 years. My 1984 280 SL 5 speed has 75,000 miles on it but I have only owned it for 8 months now but it is also mostly original according to the service records I received. There were a few things replaced that should not have been but it looks like it was a case of the mechanic taking advantage of a nice old lady original owner. It is in need of nothing at this time and runs and looks like new.

[Boudreaux]

Originally Posted by Carlos Serrano

Don't say that I have fallen in love with a silver 2005 SL 55 AMG.I better do some research before I trade the 99 SL 500.

These websites have mentioned the countless problems with the R230's and other MB models that make you go, 'Hmmmmmm'.

Lemon MB lists all models and the numerous complaints by the owners being treated like trash and given the run around by dealers.
www.lemonmb.com

This website is ok and not as updated frequently with problems.
www.mercedesproblems.com

IMHO, keep the '99 SL500. She's gonna have problems in the future but not as many as the R230's. Plus the profile and style of the R129's are truly a remarkable aesthetic testament to the German philosophy of creating something beautiful. The R230's look like a mutant Porsche 928 with a big ass.

Good luck.

[Carlos Serrano]

I've been looking for reasons to trade my 99 SL 500 but to be honest I can not, besides the fact that the 2005 SL55 is price at 86,000 and that is a lot of money even for 1700 miles used car with a bi-turbo powerplant,I can not complaint about my R129, little things here and there that can be describe as normal wear and tear are the only complaints I have, the parts can be expensive we all know that but that is part of it, expensive car expensive parts. A hell of a thrill to drive open top on the hwy knowing well that you can make just about anybody look like they are going backwards in your rear view mirror, so maybe I just keep my 99 and find me a house with a bigger garage.

[Strife]

Hmmm...well, there's some fundamental things going on here:

1. The 107 SL is rooted in 1960's/early 70's technology with some 1980's electronics (discrete components) towards the end. Inherently, simpler. I've read that the parts count in an average car increased FIVE TIMES between 1970 and 2000. So, if the cars were "as reliable" as they were 30 years ago, they'd break five times more often (a gross simplification - because of interrelated problems and interconnects, it would actually be worse than this).

2. They don't contain all the unneeded crap "modern" cars contain. Examples: How many top problems will you find on 129's with the limit switches, microcontroller and hydraulics? With the 107, if your arms work and you have a screwdriver and a ratchet set, you can either work the top or fix darn near anything. Worst case: a $10 mechanical cable. Power seats? Yes-you power them. Power side mirrors? Yes, your power. Even the maligned vacuum systems - if you have a real understanding of them and a manual, a $30 Mitivac and some choice obscenities in your vocabulary, you can fix it - and you don't need a specialized $1000's of dollars dealer only test set.

3. These cars are generally loved and maintained; many are not exposed to bad weather at all.

4. As much as 107 owners complain about the costs of parts, get a reality check and price some parts for a 21'st century dirtball Ford. I suspect that many of us are older and remember when one of the finest distirbutor caps that could be had at any price - an Accel epoxy distributor cap for an 8-cylinder Camaro - was $15.00. That was a long time ago.

I need to occasionally remind myself that I have a car that cost approximately my gross income for the year when it was new!

[Boudreaux]

Originally Posted by Carlos Serrano

I've been looking for reasons to trade my 99 SL 500 but to be honest I can not, besides the fact that the 2005 SL55 is price at 86,000 and that is a lot of money even for 1700 miles used car with a bi-turbo powerplant,I can not complaint about my R129, little things here and there that can be describe as normal wear and tear are the only complaints I have, the parts can be expensive we all know that but that is part of it, expensive car expensive parts. A hell of a thrill to drive open top on the hwy knowing well that you can make just about anybody look like they are going backwards in your rear view mirror, so maybe I just keep my 99 and find me a house with a bigger garage.

IMHO the R129 is more of a "head-turner" than the R230's.

Keep your '99 SL500 and put your money to better use (imagine spending $86K and having all of those problems that were mentioned at lemonmb.com...I would be so p*ssed I would probably go postal at a stealership).

Good luck and Happy Benzing.

[GermanMarque]

Sorry to throw you fellows off track, I keep hearing mentioned "Mitivac" what is one? It apparently lives well in testing vacum lines, never heard of one in Australia. Please enlighten me. Politely!

[rzrob]

Basically it's like a syringe that allows a mechanic to create vacuum to test vacuum-related systems for leaks. They might go by another name in your neck of the woods, but I'm sure they exist. The typical size is smaller than a large can of spray paint.